‘Russia must be ready to end war’: Zelenskyy as trilateral peace talks open in Abu Dhabi

Peace negotiations between Ukraine, Russia, and the US were held in Abu Dhabi on Friday, marking the first such three-way meeting since the war began in February 2022. As discussions ended for the day, Ukraine’s President said Moscow must show readiness to end the conflict it initiated.

In his evening address to the nation, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “The key is that Russia must be ready to end the war it started.”

VIDEO | Kyiv: "Russia must end the war it started; our position is clear, " says Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on trilateral peace talks held in UAE between US, Russia and Ukraine.

(Source: Third Party)

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/ja1bgT1QIN

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 24, 2026

Territory remains central issue

The three countries are continuing to seek an agreement on territorial matters. Earlier in the day, the Kremlin outlined what it called a “very important condition” that Kyiv give up the Donbas.

Zelensky told reporters the talks would focus on the eastern Donbas region, which includes the Donetsk and Luhansk areas that are largely – but not entirely – occupied by Russia.

President Putin’s demand that Ukraine surrender the remaining 20 percent of the Donetsk region in the Donbas – about 5,000sq km (1,900sq miles) still under Kyiv’s control – has emerged as a major obstacle to any breakthrough agreement.

Zelenskyy has rejected giving up territory that Russia has failed to seize during four years of grinding, attritional fighting.

Surveys indicate there is little public support in Ukraine for making territorial concessions.

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia’s insistence on Ukraine yielding all of Donbas was “a very important condition”.

Negotiations to continue 

The UAE’s foreign ministry said the negotiations are “scheduled to continue over two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis”.

Both Moscow and Kyiv said military intelligence officials would attend the talks. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to mediate.

Zelenskyy said he hoped the negotiations would be a “step towards ending the war”. The talks follow his remarks to European leaders on Thursday, when he criticised them and called for material action against Russian aggression in a speech in Davos, suggesting he does not see an imminent resolution as likely.